Awful start brings second away defeat

There was no recall for Micah Hyde, who had to settle for a place on the bench on his return for suspension, and Steve Cotterill named the side that had lost at Cardiff a week earlier. We've gone eight months without losing successive matches, the last time was back in March when we lost at Derby and Stoke, and after the disappointing result last week we really needed to get back to winning ways.

The latecomers missed the Clarets going behind just four minutes into the game when we were sadly exposed down our right hand side. Nathan Ellington played the ball in for Jason Koumas who had acres of space and hit his shot into the corner of the net past former Baggie Brian Jensen.

Steve Cotterill spoke recently of the need to start games well, and we could only hope West Brom wouldn't really get the upper hand after this goal, but before we'd even time to settle the lead was doubled when Ellington shot from outside the box and beat Jensen to his left.

Yes, 3:07 was the time on the clock, the largely populated away end went quiet, and for some Burnley fans there was a real shock as they took their seats late to find us two down.

To our credit, we started to play some good football and for a long spell during the first half we pinned West Brom back as we took the game to them but we couldn't get the breakthrough. Russell Hoult, restored in goal for the home side, made a couple of decent saves, Chris McCann put one shot wide of target but Gifton Noel-Williams really should have brought us back into the game with a header.

It wasn't a difficult chance, and would have been an even easier one for Michael Duff, but the striker headed over from close range. Shortly after that, Steve Jones got in a shot that was blocked. Some fans closer to the action thought there was a handball but to be honest there was no real appeal from any of our players.

Jones saw a lot of the ball during the first half, he certainly had the beating of Martin Albrechtsen, but time and again he wasted the opportunities with disappointing balls into the box.

We'd done enough to get back into the game and with about five minutes of the first half remaining someone said to me that we would be happy with the way we were playing if the score was 0-0. We would, but in the last few minutes of the half the game was finally well and truly decided.

Only a superb block from Duff kept out Phillips, Koumas made a real mess of a chance when through but then right on the whistle they got the all important third goal. It was so similar in some ways to the first goal but this time the shot was higher and Jensen got to it but could only push it up and Darren Carter made no mistake from close range.

We replaced Wade Elliott with Alan Mahon for the start of the second half but in truth the second forty-five minutes was something of a non-event with the result just about decided. West Brom had taken their foot off the pedal and the Clarets had a lot of the possession in the second half.

Again we could have scored but the best two chances went begging, firstly Jones seeing his effort blocked and then Andy Gray having a header cleared when it looked as if he would get a late consolation.

The biggest talking points of the second half were the injury to Jon Harley and the sending off of Frank Sinclair. Harley was replaced by Micah Hyde, and Harley not completing the ninety minutes is a rare event indeed. The injury could be serious, it could be a broken foot, and we can only hope it is good news.

Frank was sent off by our old friend Richard Beeby, perhaps the first booking was justified but the second one for me was just ridiculous. Beeby didn't get any major decisions wrong today, I'm not sure there were any, but he's managed to wave seven cards again. Letter of the law stuff from a referee who simply does not understand the game for me, as was pointed out, when Nick Worth came on to an injured West Brom player a couple of minutes from the end, it was the first time either physio had been on.

We also saw the introduction of former Claret Richard Chaplow. I'm not sure what sort of reception Chappy was expecting from the Burnley fans but I'm sure he didn't think it would be as hostile as it was. There was none of the “You'll always be a Claret” stuff, although in Chappy's case he probably always will, it was more in the style of “Burnley reject”.

Our man of the match, well that's a difficult one on a day when we suffered our heaviest defeat of the season. My initial thought was that it couldn't be a defender, but on further consideration I have gone for Jon Harley who up to the injury had played well. He's been in some good form recently.

So it is successive defeats, and we've got third place Birmingham next week, another tough one. It can't be any more difficult than this game, it doesn't get much more difficult than being two goals behind after just six minutes.

The teams were;

West Brom: Russell Hoult, Martin Albrechtsen, Curtis Davies, Chris Perry, Paul Robinson, Diomansy Kamara, Nigel Quashie, Darren Carter, Jason Koumas, Kevin Phillips, Nathan Ellington (Richard Chaplow 74). Subs not used: Luke Steele, Steve Watson, Ronnie Wallwork, Paul McShane.

Burnley: Brian Jensen, Frank Sinclair, Wayne Thomas, Michael Duff, Jon Harley (Micah Hyde 58), Wade Elliott (Alan Mahon 45), James O'Connor, Chris McCann, Steve Jones, Gifton Noel-Williams (Kyle Lafferty 63), Andy Gray. Subs not used: Danny Coyne, Stephen Foster.

Referee: Richard Beeby (Northants).

Attendance: 18,707.